Rosemary Clooney Collection

Rosemary Clooney
(1928 – 2002)

When most folks think of Rosemary Clooney, the first thought that comes to our head is White Christmas. The 1954 classic certainly helped define her career after that point, but more for the lifelong friendships she made on the set rather than the film itself.

There would have been no place in the Bing Crosby vehicle for Rosemary if it were not for her great singing talent. The New York Times said that Rosemary "did not dig as deeply into the emotional content of a song as Frank Sinatra did; she never tried to emulate the sound and delivery of an instrument as Mel Tormé seemed to do so easily; she did not burst into the scat choruses. But she sang with so much assuredness, simplicity and honesty that these elements became her trademark and endeared her to audiences and critics alike. In the words of the director Mike Nichols, 'She sings like Spencer Tracy acts.'"

Rosemary had a troubled childhood. Born in Maysville, Kentucky, her mother traveled a good deal with her job for a chain of dress shops. When Rosemary was 13, her mother ran away with a sailor to California, taking Rosie's younger brother with her. Her father, a defense plant worker, did his best to raise his daughters, but when he went to celebrate the end of WWII, he took the household money and never returned.

Little sister Betty and Rosemary did what they could to fend for themselves, including collecting pop bottles to turn in for deposit. On a whim, they went to an open singing audition at a Cincinnati radio station and were shocked when they won. The late night, $20 a week spot they won in 1945 brought them to the attention of band leader Tony Pastor.

After touring with the Tony Pastor Orchestra for two years, Betty recognized that she was holding Rosemary's career back, even if Rosie didn't see it herself. Betty went back to Cincinnati and Rosemary landed in New York just as girl singers were becoming popular with the recording industry.

Mitch Miller was an A&R man (Artists and Repertoire) with Columbia Records, and had a huge impact on many singer's careers. He choose a song for Rosemary that she hated, a novelty tune called "Come On-a My House". Miller's instincts were correct; the public loved the tune, but mostly they loved Rosie.

Success in the studio meant a round of radio appearances in 1952 and 1953, including the The Arthur Godrfey Show, Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show, The Chesterfield Program with Bing Crosby, The Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis Show and The Bob Hope Show. Paramount took notice, and cast Rosie in a series of musicals, including The Stars Are Singing(1953), Bob Hope's Here Come the Girls(1953) and the Western send up Red Garters(1954).

Rosemary began a hot romance with one of her costars, dancer Dante Di Paola. The pairing would have delighted the studio PR department and the gossip columnists, so everyone was shocked when she eloped with Jose Ferrer, who was 16 years older than her. The couple settled in a house which used to belong to George Gershwin, had five kids, and threw parties which became Hollywood legends. The marriage ended in divorce in 1961. There was a reconciliation in 1964 and a final divorce in 1967.

White Christmas was to be a showcase for Bing's singing, Danny Kaye's comedy, Irving Berlin's songs and Paramount's new VistaVision wide screen technology. What resonated with audiences was the chemistry between Bing and Rosemary.

Just before Rosemary's youngest was born, someone floated an idea for a daytime radio program featuring Bing and his White Christmas costar. The Bing Crosby/Rosemary Clooney Show became an anchor in Rosemary's increasingly troubled life. Her first divorce came during the run of the show. The program was actually a labor of love between the two friends, without that much real labor. Bing's fascination with the Ampex reel to reel tape recorder is what made the show possible and made it so much fun for the audience. The stars would get together at one or the other's house (usually Rosemary's, because of her kids) and record their exchanges, usually over drinks. Most of the music was pre recorded and dubbed in. This meant that neither Bing nor Rosie were tied to a definite schedule; they could tape whenever they felt like it and results were terrific.

When her second divorce from Ferrer became final in 1967, she again threw herself into work, but also made time to support her friend Bobby Kennedy in his bid for the Presidency. Rosemary was in the Ambassador Hotel and heard the shots when Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968. A month later she suffered a nervous breakdown on stage in Reno. She entered the hospital to get treatment for depression and drug addiction, and was reduced to singing paper towel jingles and appearing in Holiday Inn lounges.

In 1976, Bing came to her rescue again by inviting Rosie to join him on his 50th anniversary tour. The highlight of the show was a duet of "Slow Boat to China".

The other happy coincidence occurred when Rosemary pulled her Corvette next to a 1956 Thunderbird at a stop light. Behind the wheel of the T-Bird was Dante Di Paolo. After honking at each other, Dante wrote her number in the dust on his dash. Their romance rekindled, and after a special audience with the Pope, they were married in 1997.

A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6325 Hollywood Blvd honors Rosemary Clooney's contributions to the Recording Industry.